Sarah tilted her head and said, without changing her expression.

“All these assumptions are the story of when the First Prince touched black magic. Your Majesty, do you think the First Prince may have touched that power?”

“That child couldn’t do that!”

“Then there’s no reason why you can’t follow the law of the magic tower.”

“……”

The Emperor frowned and slowly lowered the hand holding the back of his neck. He had to admit that the woman in front of him now was the Master of the magic tower, not the Small Countess of Millen.

“First, suggest how Crombell can get help from the magic tower. Whether or not to accept the magic tower’s law will be discussed later.”

“……That’s right.”

Sarah nodded her head in admiration for the Emperor who calmly started trading under anger. Now it was time to negotiate properly with the Emperor.

“In order to solve the problem of this Alton Estate, the magic tower decided to dispatch a magician with excellent skills.”

“Who is that?”

“Me.”

Sarah answered, pointing a finger at herself. The Emperor looked at Sarah and sighed quietly, and said.

“……Sounds like a pun.”

“But the meaning in it is different.”

“Say it.”

“I’ll hide my face and voice and accompany Duke Ambrosia. As a magician dispatched from the magic tower.”

“You mean you’re going to hide your identity there?”

“Sarah Millen has to take care of Young Lord Ambrosia at the Duke’s mansion.”

“……I see.”

The emperor nodded his head after some understanding. In any case, if Sarah, the Master of the tower, came forward, the incident at Alton Estate would surely be solved. The First Prince, who might be going through something in Alton Estate by now, could be rescued more quickly.

“So, is that all Crombell’s benefit will be?”

“The mere fact that Crombell has the ability to enlist a magician to solve problems will instill awe in the neighbors.”

“Hoo.”

“They wouldn’t even dare to think of crossing the line. In this case, they’ll think we can make a deal with the magic tower.”

Interest finally came to the Emperor’s face, who could not hide his disapproval of Sarah’s words.

“So you’re going to come to the front as a magician?”

“Of course. The magician who will go to Alton Estate this time will represent the magic tower, and will cooperate as much as possible with the orders issued by His Majesty the Emperor of the Crombell Empire.”

The Emperor will not be able to refuse. And Sarah knew it all too well.

“What do you think? If I give you this amount, would you be happy to cooperate with the will of the magic tower?”

“……”

At Sarah’s words, the Emperor kept his mouth shut for a moment and pondered. He was at odds with his determination as a father and his desire as an emperor.

“My son is not a child to be caught in such a trivial thing.”

“……Well, I hope so, too.”

“Really, is there any circumstance where a black magician approached my son?”

“Sadly, yes.”

Leaving behind the struggling Emperor, Sarah turned her gaze to Ethan. Ethan looked at Sarah silently, then shrugged his shoulders and approached the emperor.

“Your Majesty.”

“……How do you view this, Duke?”

“Being able to formally establish a friendly relationship with the magic tower is irreplaceable.”

“If Kazer touched that peculiar thing……”

“He would be truly unworthy of being the prince of the Empire.”

The Emperor closed his eyes miserably at Ethan’s coldly falling words. The Emperor, who had not said anything for a while, soon spoke in a grave subdued voice.

“Give me time to think. It won’t be too long.”

Sarah looked at the Emperor and smiled, raising the corners of her lips. Seeing the flower-like smile on her beautiful face, the Emperor clenched his fists. He got goosebumps.

“Of course, Your Majesty.”

* * *

The Emperor’s decision did not take long. That night, a letter containing the Emperor’s secret intentions arrived at Duke Ambrosia’s family, and Sarah and Ethan immediately ordered that their luggage be packed. Throughout the Empire, the situation of the Alton Estate became widely known, and the people of the Empire praised the Emperor for his success in negotiating with the magic tower.

“Rumors of atrocities happening at Alton Estate were true. That’s why you don’t know what’s going to happen in the monster forest.”

“Oh my God, a magician is coming to this Empire!”

“Did you mean that the magic tower really existed? I’ve only read it in books!”

“I’d like to go see it, so can we sneak in the Ambrosia procession?”

“Say something that makes sense! Didn’t they say there are dozens of people dying in Alton Estate in a day?!”

“Still, the magician is with them…… When will I ever see a magician in my life? Right?”

People began to gather in the capital to see the magician who would appear in the procession of Ambrosia. Envoys sent by kingdoms and empires close to the Crombell Empire also gathered in the capital of Crombell from time to time. They also paced around Ambrosia’s mansion to catch a chance to encounter the magician somehow.

“Heaven…… Now you have to leave tomorrow, but can you break through that crowd?”

May brushed Sarah’s hair from behind, who sat by the window, and said in a voice of admiration. She knew the existence of a magician was really mysterious and the influence was great, but she forgot about it as she faced Sarah every day. That the existence of Sarah, the magician, could create such a big wind.

“The nobles will also gather in those crowds. The commoners would not be able to stand in front of them because they were afraid, and the nobles would not be able to block their way to save their faces, so it would be okay.” 

Sarah blinked slowly and looked at the lights through the window. It was already in the middle of the night when the sun had set and the moon had risen, but the night view was more sparkling than the stars in the night sky due to people walking around near Ambrosia’s mansion.

“It’s a different scenery.”

Sarah rested her chin on the window sill and looked out blankly. It was when May quietly started brushing Sarah’s hair again, seeing how complicated her feelings were.

“Nannyyy……”

Claude’s weeping voice came from outside Sarah’s door, with a knock on the door.

“Young Master Claude?”

Sarah got up from the chair and opened the door wide. Then she could see Claude rubbing his red, bloodshot eyes because he couldn’t sleep at the best time to sleep, and Benjamin with a displeased face behind him.

“What’s going on at this hour? Is there anything wrong?”

Sarah was startled and hugged Claude. Then Claude rubbed his cheek against Sarah’s shoulder and wept.

“Huangg, Nanny……”

Sarah looked at Benjamin, gently sweeping down Claude’s back as he burst into tears.

“What’s going on here?”

“What can I do when I can’t sleep like that every time?”

He made a tired face and shook his head. These days, Benjamin had been assigned a room next to the child’s room in the name of becoming close to Claude. At first, they hated each other to the point that they had goosebumps all over their arms, but they became close and developed a relationship where they quarreled until Claude went to sleep.

“Have you been having trouble sleeping? You didn’t tell me that to me.”

“The brat kept the other servants from telling you because he was afraid Master would be worried.”

“Young Master Claude……”

With a sad voice, Sarah hugged Claude a little tighter. The fact that young Claude hadn’t already cracked down on the mouths of the servants and hadn’t tried to cause more worry was even more pitiful.

“I’m sorry. You must be very sad while we’re at the Alton Estate, but I haven’t paid much attention to you.”

“Hiic.”

At Sarah’s words, Claude sniffed and burst into tears as if the sorrow he had endured was flooding in.

“How about sleeping with me today?”

“That’s a good idea. That’s a very good idea.”

Benjamin welcomed it with open arms. It wasn’t a day or two that he also stayed up all night because he was worried about Claude, who couldn’t sleep well. Benjamin also looked as if he wanted to sleep right away.

“You’ve worked hard, Benjamin. Thank you.”

“……It was nothing, Master.”

At Sarah’s praise, a faint redness appeared around Benjamin’s eyes. After a long time, he smirked a little and looked at Claude, who was hugging Sarah with a smile.

“Then I’ll go first. I’ll give up and let the brat have his last night with Master.”

“I’m not a brattt.”

“Yes yes, Young Lord Ambrosia. Please go to sleep.”

Benjamin touched Claude’s temper once until the end and then backed away. Tears stopped in Claude’s eyes as he turned his head to stare at Benjamin’s back.

“They’re really close.”

Seeing this, Sarah smiled happily. Then she went into her room with Claude in her arms and carefully laid the child on the bed.

“Let’s hold hands and sleep tight today. I’ll put Young Master Claude to sleep until you fall asleep.”

“Really? Until I fall asleep?”

“Of course. Did you see me lying?”

Sarah smiled and lay down beside Claude. May consciously blew out the candles that lit the room and lit the fireplace to create warm air. The crackling and burning of the firewood was Claude’s favorite sound before he went to bed.

“Good……”

Claude was very pleased with it, so he closed his eyes, clasping Sarah’s hand tightly. Sara gently patted the child’s back with her other hand and winked at May.

“Then please go to sleep.”

Then May carefully closed Sarah’s door and went outside. With a thud, the door closed, and Claude opened his mouth with his eyes closed.

“……Nanny.”

“Yes.”

“I want to sleep with Father, too.”

“With the Duke?”

“Eung. Tomorrow, both Nanny and Father will go to Alton Estate.”

“That’s true but……”

At Claude’s outrageous request, Sarah blurted the words as if in trouble, thinking of Ethan, who was still in the office. So she would sleep in the same bed with Ethan? With Claude in between? Sarah’s mind started to get complicated in an instant.

“I can’t?”

And as he looked at Sarah in agony, Claude urged her in a subtle voice. The child was looking at her with meaningful eyes before he knew it.